The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Directed by: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson/Noah Baumbach
Based on book by: Roald Dahl

Godammit. I have to say it, so I’ll get it out of the way early: The Fantastic Mr. Fox was, indeed, fantastic.

Ok. Now that that’s over with, let’s get down to business.

Wes Anderson is a super-talented filmmaker and writer. Most of us know this. The problem is that his last couple of movies have been a bit…um…lacking? I liked The Darjeeling Ltd more than most did, but even I know it wasn’t his best work. And The Life Aquatic was just kind of there. If it weren’t for the David Bowie songs sung in Portuguese, I don’t think anyone would really remember that movie.

So it was with not really trepidation, but definite hope that I walked into the screening tonight. I really hoped that the Wes that we all know and love would be back with the new form that he was taking.

Luckily for all involved, this one is on par with Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums.

Fox (George Clooney) is a bit of a scoundrel. He and his wife (Meryl Streep) made a deal when their son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), was born, he would stop stealing chickens for a living. But all bets are off when they move in next door to the meanest and most successful farmers in the country, Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), Bunce (Hugo Guinness) and Bean (Michael Gambon). He gets up to his old tricks again, even pulling his new friend, Kylie the opossum (Wally Wolodarsky).

Meanwhile, Ash is having problems of his own. He is constantly trying to prove to his dad that he’s an athelete and now he has to deal with Kristofferson (Eric Anderson, creator of all of the artwork for Wes’ Criterion editions…and his brother), his far more talented and better looking cousin. What’s an uncoordinated runt to do?

Keep your ears open for Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson. Even Wes gets a small role!

As you can tell, Wes is back to his favorite subject again: father-son issues. Even when he didn’t write the source material he manages to get it in there. I had never heard of the Roald Dahl book before the movie started being talked about, so I don’t know if it’s in there or not, but it works out well.

Wes used Dahl’s story to create some charming and real characters and his animators brought them to amazing life. The stop-motion is beautiful, even if he did direct a lot of it from his i-Phone. He also took the voice actos out on location. No studio recording for our boy. As Jason said in the video Q&A after the movie, he was out there digging in the ground “between George Clooney and a Ghostbuster.”

Just like another kids’ flick from this season directed by someone who doesn’t usually do kids’ flicks, this movie probably isn’t for the youngest of kids. It’s not as scary as Where The Wild Things Are could be, but there is a lot about death going on in it. After all, Fox is stealing live birds…and they’re not so alive after he gets through with them. And death plays a role later one, too.

But, for the most part, this is WAY lighter than Wild Things. Not as deep and faster paced. Anderson and Noah Baumbach didn’t pull punches for kids, but they know how to appeal to them without talking down to them. I love how they wrote the screenplay as if it was one of their normal screenplays and then found a way around all of the cursing.

And for all of you purists out there who decry the fact that the ending is different from the book…well, shut up. First off, the ending is great. Second, the ending is actually an alternate ending that was found in Dahl’s house while Wes and Noah were writing the screenplay. So, there.

Wes and his crew have made what may be the most fun kids’ movie of the year. Great voice cast, great animation and, of course, great soundtrack. (Three Beach Boys songs! AND a Stones song!) Go see it as soon as you can. Even if George Clooney is your nemesis.